---
title: "Licensing"
description: "Kastrax License"
---

# License

## Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2)

Kastrax is licensed under the Elastic License 2.0 (ELv2), a modern license designed to balance open-source principles with sustainable business practices.

### What is Elastic License 2.0?

The Elastic License 2.0 is a source-available license that grants users broad rights to use, modify, and distribute the software while including specific limitations to protect the project's sustainability. It allows:

- Free use for most purposes
- Viewing, modifying, and redistributing the source code
- Creating and distributing derivative works
- Commercial use within your organization

The primary limitation is that you cannot provide Kastrax as a hosted or managed service that offers users access to the substantial functionality of the software.

### Why We Chose Elastic License 2.0

We selected the Elastic License 2.0 for several important reasons:

1. **Sustainability**: It enables us to maintain a healthy balance between openness and the ability to sustain long-term development.

2. **Innovation Protection**: It ensures we can continue investing in innovation without concerns about our work being repackaged as competing services.

3. **Community Focus**: It maintains the spirit of open source by allowing users to view, modify, and learn from our code while protecting our ability to support the community.

4. **Business Clarity**: It provides clear guidelines for how Kastrax can be used in commercial contexts.

### Building Your Business with Kastrax

Despite the licensing restrictions, there are numerous ways to build successful businesses using Kastrax:

#### Allowed Business Models

- **Building Applications**: Create and sell applications built with Kastrax
- **Offering Consulting Services**: Provide expertise, implementation, and customization services
- **Developing Custom Solutions**: Build bespoke AI solutions for clients using Kastrax
- **Creating Add-ons and Extensions**: Develop and sell complementary tools that extend Kastrax's functionality
- **Training and Education**: Offer courses and educational materials about using Kastrax effectively

#### Examples of Compliant Usage

- A company builds an AI-powered customer service application using Kastrax and sells it to clients
- A consulting firm offers implementation and customization services for Kastrax
- A developer creates specialized agents and tools with Kastrax and licenses them to other businesses
- A startup builds a vertical-specific solution (e.g., healthcare AI assistant) powered by Kastrax

#### What to Avoid

The main restriction is that you cannot offer Kastrax itself as a hosted service where users access its core functionality. This means:

- Don't create a SaaS platform that is essentially Kastrax with minimal modifications
- Don't offer a managed Kastrax service where customers are primarily paying to use Kastrax's features

### Questions About Licensing?

If you have specific questions about how the Elastic License 2.0 applies to your use case, please [contact us](https://discord.gg/BTYqqHKUrf) on Discord for clarification. We're committed to supporting legitimate business use cases while protecting the sustainability of the project.
